Fourth Sunday of Easter May 10-11, 2025
“The Lord is My Shepherd” Psalm 23
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
Did you know that the Bible calls you a sheep? But that isn’t always a compliment. In the Old Testament: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way.” (Isaiah 53:6) In the New Testament Jesus tells a story about a sheep that gets lost. That sheep goes it alone. Takes off from the others and finds itself in a bad spot. (Luke 15:3-7) Darn sheep!!
Dr. Reed Lessing says, “Sheep are not intimidating creatures; truth be told, sheep are dumb. They graze on the same hills until those hills turn to desert wastes; they bend down to drink from a pond, get too close and allow the water to absorb into their wool, fall in, and drown! Sheep are also dirty. Their wool is like a magnet. It attracts mud, manure, and maggots and becomes caked with dirt, decay and disease. Sheep absorb every particle of filth in the atmosphere. Finally, sheep are defenseless. They sometimes can roll over on their back, but then are unable to get up. Canines, coyotes and cougars all know that a cast sheep is a sitting duck! (Concordia Commentary, R. Reed Lessing, Isaiah 40-55, Page 486)
Look at us. We are sheep. Recently in the section of our worship where we confess our sins we have said:
I confess to God Almighty, before the whole company of heaven and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned in thought, word and deed by my fault, by my own fault, by my own most grievous fault…”
We are sheep, lost and without a proper defense. But Psalm 23 is a word about a shepherd who has a wonderful caring heart toward sheep – toward us. Psalm 23 is one of the greatest words in the entire Bible about where we find our provisions and protection and peace. “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not be in want.” (Psalm 23:1) This psalm is known, by heart, by lots of you. I bet you can speak it by heart. You’ve heard it at funerals. It is spoken to patients in hospitals. Today not only do I want you to know it by heart; I want you to keep it in your heart.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
What a word from God! One guy said that Psalm 23 is like an old friend. Faithful, close, comforting. Everyone needs someone that will take their side and will fight for them. We have this in these words and by our Shepherd. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Life can be brutal. It can take everything out of us. Who will stand with us? Who will fight for us? Our God will do such a thing. The Bible says, “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for the sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness…I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak.” (Ezekiel 34:11-12, 16)
A shepherd will take care of their sheep not only when they look at the face of death but also when they face the challenges of life. The word that is translated “death” in this psalm, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…” is the same word for darkness. Darkness like illness and addiction, divorce and suicide, defeat and trouble, sickness and disaster. Why do we love these words from Psalm 23? It is because we know that we will face death, and we do face darkness, and the Shepherd, our Lord, will never let us face such things alone. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” I John 1:5 says, “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”
You are a sheep, right? With all those flaws and weaknesses. The joy of knowing the shepherd is that the shepherd cares for us just as we are. I have a friend who knows a real-life shepherd who works the sheep on a large acreage just outside Lincoln, Nebraska. The shepherd, Blayne, had a male lamb born late one year, born later than it should have been. Flies picked of this little one and that lamb developed sores which went to his joints and impaired his balance. The lamb could not stand. So Blayne, each day would go out and stand the lamb up and massage its limbs so it would get circulation. Each day he would hold it, stroke it, give it its medications, and hand feed it. Was it worth it? Why not just put it down? That single sheep was taking up all his time. But Blayne persevered and so did the lamb. After seven weeks of daily rehabilitation the little lamb could stand on his own. Blayne, the shepherd, named his little sheep, Rocky – after the Sylvester Stallone character!! This lamb was one tough lamb. That shepherd was one tough shepherd.
Who is the shepherd who will fight for us and will take care of us, one by one, with all of our imperfections? Jesus is that shepherd. This is what Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” (John 10:11-14)
He fought for you when He went to the cross and paid for all your sins and failings and screw-ups. But to do that work He didn’t use a rod and a staff. He used a cross and some sharp nails and when it was all over, a spear in His side. That is how our Shepherd, Jesus, protects His sheep. And then to you, His sheep, He gives a life forever under His blessings. Jesus said of such grace, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28)
Psalm 23 is a picture of protection and provision. Green pastures. Still waters. He restores our souls. He leads us in ways of righteousness. A table is set before us filled with every marvelous gift. The cup into which He pours one good thing after the other, now is overflowing. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
I’ve been told that sheep can smell and their IQ is quite low. But there is something that sheep have going for them. They have good ears. They have amazing abilities to listen. David Fleming, a pastor in Grand Rapids, Michigan says, “Sheep have impeccable hearing. Multiple flocks can be merged together at night and then separated in the morning simply by the shepherds calling. That is what Jesus taught in John 10, speaking of himself as the Shepherd: The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” (John 10:3-4) (Concordia Pulpit Resources, May 7, 2017, Page 39)
This is what I pray for you: That you may know the voice of the Good Shepherd. I pray that it is the voice of salvation and strength and guidance and hope. I pray that every day you hear it clearly and that you receive that voice with joy. May the hearing of your Good Shepherd begin in your ears and end up in your heart. Amen!!
